2013 SIBA Book Award Winners

The Southern Independent Bookseller's Alliance, or SIBA, choses six books each year from the best in southern literature. One title is chosen from each category: Children's, Young Adult, Cooking, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. The titles are nominated by southern, independent booksellers (like me) and their customers (like you). While we are all reading globally, it is nice to have a regional minded award list compiled by the people who are at the forefront of localmindedness. The interest of SIBA stretches from Louisiana on up to North Carolina, but this year's seems to sit close to home for us! One of the winners, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by Louisiana's own William Joyce, is one of my favorite books. I am so thrilled to have this book on the SIBA list, while it was inspired by Hurricane Katrina it is a beautiful story for readers across the globe. I'm also excited to note that the winning book of poetry, though not written by a Louisiana native, was published by LSU Press. Southern literature has a deep and rich history and these authors (and many more) are a constant reminder that we will continue to build on that history.

Children's Winner

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce and Joe Bluhm (ills.)

The book that inspired the Academy Award-winning short film, from "New York Times"- bestselling author and beloved visionary Joyce. Stunningly brought to life, this book is a modern masterpiece, showing that in today's world of traditional books, eBooks, and apps, it's story that we truly celebrate.

Poetry Winner

Descent by Kathryn Stripling Byer 

Navigating the dangerous currents of family and race, Kathryn Stripling Byer s sixth poetry collection confronts the legacy of southern memory and landscape, where too often "it s safer to stay blind."

Cooking Winner 

The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Savannah landmark Back in the Day Bakery, here is a fabulously fun book filled with customers' favorite recipes and irresistible full-color photographs of food and behind-the-scenes bakery shots.

Fiction Winner

A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash

In his phenomenal debut novel--a mesmerizing literary thriller about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small North Carolina town--Cash displays a remarkable talent for lyrical, powerfully emotional storytelling.

Nonfiction Winner

Stand Up That Mountain by Jay Erskine Leutze

The true story of an outdoorsman living alone in Western North Carolina who teams up with his neighbors and environmental lawyers to save a treasured mountain peak from the mining company.

Young Adult Winner

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now 11, and her best friend Dale turn detective when the amnesiac Colonel, owner of a cafe and co-parent of Mo with his cook, Miss Lana, seems implicated in a murder.